PHOENIX β Three of the four Republicans who hope to replace Doug Ducey as governor lashed out at him and some of the things he did, including how he handled COVID, promising something radically different if they are elected.
βI think Doug Duceyβs done some great things,ββ said former TV anchor Kari Lake. But she said he failed to act like the CEO of the ice cream company he used to run.
βUnfortunately, during COVID, he shut our businesses down, he shut our churches down, and he shut our schools down,ββ Lake said. βAnd he put masks on our children. And I find that unacceptable.ββ
Business owner Paola Tullani-Zen said she was OK with Duceyβs original mask mandate when the virus was first on the scene.
βWe all panicked the first three, four months,ββ she said.
βAnd we all did what they told us to do,ββ Tulliani-Zen continued. βBut you know, after that, when science comes out, we should have had a choice, saying Ducey βdidnβt have the backboneββ to repeal the mask mandates before he eventually did.
Scott Neely, also a business owner, went a step farther, saying all Duceyβs COVID policies did is βhelp the oligarchs,ββ closing small business while allowing major retailers like Walmart, Home Depot and Amazon to prosper.
βIt was intentional, absolutely intentional,ββ he said.
That left only Karrin Taylor Robson, a former member of the Board of Regents β a position she was appointed to by Ducey β to defend his record, at least indirectly.
βWe now have the lowest flat tax in the nation, courtesy of the Republican majority in the House and Senate,ββ she said. And Robson said she understands the important of that and lower regulation because βI am a small business owner.ββ
βYouβre husbandβs a billionaire,ββ shot back Neely, noting her marriage to Ed Robson who owns Robson Resort Communities.
Wednesdayβs event sponsored by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission and aired on KAET-TV, the Phoenix PBS affiliate, is the only one where all GOP candidates attended.
It also comes only about a week before early ballots go out for the Aug. 2 primary β and right after former Congressman Matt Salmon quit the race, endorsing Robson and giving her a chance to catch up to Lake who has been leading in many polls.
Each of the contenders took advantage of the televised opportunity to lob charges at others.
Lake charged that Robson, as a regent, had the opportunity to exempt students out of the masks as temperatures reached 115 degrees.
βThat is a lie,ββ Robson responded, uttering the phrase βFake Lakeββ the first of several times during the hour-long debate, though she acknowledged she did not vote on it. βI will not vote on anything I didnβt read,ββ she said.
βIβm not going to be called βFake Lakeβ when Iβm telling the truth,ββ Lake said.
The candidates also discussed the fact that the state budget has ballooned since Ducey became governor, from $9.1 billion in 2015 to the $18 billion plan he just signed. Tulliani-Zen said itβs hard to say all that was justified, saying thereβs been a lack of transparency.
βEverythingβs hidden,ββ she said.
And Neely called the new budget βbloated,ββ though he said that Ducey shares the blame for that with the Republican-controlled legislature.
βNow theyβre spending money like drunken RINO sailors,ββ a reference to the charge that some politicians are βRepublicans in name only.ββ
And then there was the question of who really is a Republican.
Lake has never denied being a Democrat at one time and even voting for Barack Obama. She has defended the move, saying that she became disenchanted with the party just like former Democrats Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump.
βSheβs no Ronald Reagan,ββ responded Robson. βShe found God, guns and the GOP about a day and a half before she decided to run for governor.β
Neely said that switching political positions is βnot a bad thing if youβre honest about it.ββ
That enabled him to bring up the question of whether Lake, who attacked βdragββ shows where kids are present, was dishonest by initially denying that her daughter was at a show by Rick Stevens, who performs in drag as Barbra Seville. She has since acknowledged attending a party where Stevens was an βimpersonatorββ but said that is different than a drag show. And she denied Stevens has been to her home.
There also was some division on the results of the 2020 election β and how much Arizonans were interested in revisiting that issue.
βWe had a corrupt, stolen election,ββ said Lake, who repeatedly mentioned she has been endorsed by Trump, turning the question on Robson.
βIβm not going to play your stunts,ββ she responded.
Lake was no more impressed by comments from Ted Simons, who hosted the debate, that multiple courts have reviewed the results and confirmed that Joe Biden won.
βThe courts havenβt looked at the evidence,ββ Lake said. βWe have evidence.ββ
βThen turn it in,ββ Robson said, refusing to take a position on whether, as governor, she would have certified the results.
βI did not have the evidence in front of me,ββ Lake said.
Tulliani, however, suggested that Republicans were paying far too much attention to the 2020 race.
βWe are beating a dead horse,ββ she said.
βWeβre still stuck on this,ββ Tulliani continued, saying the focus should be on ensuring the next election is fair.
βI think most people want to move forward,ββ said Neely.
Robson appeared to agree.
βRepublican voters now are worried about putting food on their table and gas in their gas tank,ββ she said.
But Robson said she believes the elections βwerenβt fair.ββ
βYou look at what liberal judges did across this country to usher in new rules and new laws the days and weeks and months before the election,ββ she said, referring to decisions, mainly in other states, to alter rules to accommodate for the restrictions caused by the pandemic.
βYou look at the media suppressing the news,ββ Robson continued, saying they have not paid attention to allegations that Hunter Biden, the presidentβs son, was involved in criminal financial dealings and that βBig Techββ was βsuppressing conservative voices.ββ
But on the question of looking forward, only Robson made a clear statement that she will accept the results of the primary.
βWeβre going to see what happens,ββ said Neely. And he said the primary hasnβt been fair, saying that GOP Chair Kelli Ward has been an unabashed backer of Lake.
βWe donβt have fair elections,ββ Lake responded to the same question of accepting the results. And Tulliani Zen said βI want definite proof of everything.ββ
There were some areas of agreement.
All four pronounced themselves opposed to abortion, declaring that life begins at conception, though Tulliani-Zen said there might be reason to provide exceptions in cases of rape or incest.
And they all made at least brief comments about securing the border, with Neely, who is in construction, saying, βI know where the steel is.ββ
Replays of the debate can be seen on the KAET-TV website, azpbs.org.